Thoughts on The Big Lebowski

 

via Gifer

"... Sometimes, there's a man. And I'm talkin' about the Dude here. Sometimes, there's a man, well, he's the man for his time and place. He fits right in there. And that's the Dude, in Los Angeles. And even if he's a lazy man -- and the Dude was most certainly that. Quite possibly the laziest in Los Angeles County, which would place him high in the runnin' for laziest worldwide. ..."

Who would have guessed that March 6, 1998 would have seen the release of two Southern California-set movie mysteries with a handsome older actor playing a somewhat downtrodden individual who solves a series of crimes build around preserving the status quo? The Big Lebowski, Joel and Ethan Coen's follow-up to Fargo, has the advantage over Twilight because it offers what I was looking for yesterday. The Dude (Jeff Bridges) figuring out who could gain from the disappearance of Bunny Lebowski (Tara Reid) matters, yes, but his unexpected investigation provides hilarious insight into nihilism, sexual attitudes and hypocrisy.

*The Dude gets a tour of "The Big" Jeffrey Lebowski's office by Brandt (Philip Seymour Hoffman)*

"(moving on from awards to photos) Hey! Is this, uh, is this him with Nancy?"

"Yes, indeed, that is Mr. Lebowski with the first lady, yes. It was taken when Mrs. Reagan ..."

"That's Lebowski on the left there?"

"Of course. Mr. Lebowski, on the left ..."

"So he's a cri -- You know, uh, a handicapped kind of guy?"

"Mr. Lebowski is disabled, yes. This picture was taken when Mrs. Reagan was first lady of the nation. Yes, yes. Not of California."

"(looking at another photo) Good shot."

"In fact, he met privately with the president, though, unfortunately, there wasn't enough time for a photo opportunity."

"Oh, Nancy's pretty good."

"Oh, wonderful woman, we were very happy to ..."

"(looking at a photo taken outside a community center) These are, er ...?"

"Oh, those are Mr. Lebowski's children, so to speak."

"Different mothers, huh?"

"No, they're not ..."

"Racially, he's pretty cool?"

"(after a longer than necessary laugh) They're not literally his children. They're the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers, inner city children of promise, but without the necessary means for ... necessary means for a higher education, so Mr. Lebowski is committed to sending all of them to college. (notices The Dude is touching an award) Excuse me. ... Thank you. Thank you."

"Far out. Think he's got room for one more?"

I'm sorry to include so much dialogue, but I love the escalation. Brandt is apparently sure that if he just keeps going with his fawning monologue, then The Dude will somehow be won over and/or behave like a proper visitor. It's been years since I've seen Lebowski, and while I've never forgotten that my go-to image for Dick Cheney remains that of Jeffrey (David Huddleston), I forgot the twist that he (Lebowski, that is) is a fraud. The fortune and industry came from Lebowski's late wife -- his attempt to lead one of the companies failed -- says Maude Lewbowski (Julianne Moore), who makes "strongly vaginal" art and controls the purse strings.

Amid the mystery of what happened to Bunny -- she's fine, she just went away for a few days, a situation separately exploited by her husband and some nihilists (Peter Stormare, Torsten Voges and Flea), but not creditor/pornographer Jackie Treehorn (Ben Gazzara) -- we get to know The Dude's friends. Walter (John Goodman) cannot stop talking about his Vietnam War experience while Donny (Steve Buscemi) does kinda fit Walter's dismissive appraisal, that he's like a child out of his element, but despite all the arguing, they are all clearly close. If they weren't, then Donny's death and ash "scattering" wouldn't matter. Spoiler: they do.

*The Dude is covered with Donny's remains*

"Oh, shit, Dude, I'm sorry. *tries rubbing the ashes off of him* Fucking wind."

"Fuck, goddamn it, Walter! You fucking asshole!"

"Shit, Dude, I'm sorry."

"Everything's a fucking travesty with you, man!"

"I'm sorry. It was an accident."

"What was that shit about Vietnam?"

"Dude, I'm sorry."

"What the fuck does antything have to do about Vietnam?"

"Dude, I'm sorry."

"What the fuck were you talking about?"

"Dude, I'm sorry."

"Fucking ..."

*After a moment, Walter pulls The Dude in for a hug*

"Fuck, Walter ..."

"Come on, Dude. Hey, fuck it, man. Let's go bowling."

Several reviewers in 1998 seemed downright angry that the Coens made Lebowski. They really didn't like the idea that the movie "lacks the emotional maturity and moral clarity of 1996's Fargo" (Rita Kempley). They didn't like that "the film doesn't seem to be about anything other than its own cleverness" (Todd McCarthy, Variety) or that what they most acutely recognized was "the Coens' bizarrely deliberate, almost Teutonic form of rib nudging. It's as if the film itself were standing off to the sidelines, saying 'Look, isn't this a hilarious concept?'" (Owen Gleiberman). More than one review self-consciously used the words of The Stranger (Sam Elliott), that "parts, anyway" of Lebowski were hilarious and worthy of approval.

I normally give myself an easy out when reviewing movies, the "recommended with reservations" option. I'm not doing that with Lebowski. It's a film that you're either all in with, or you're not for it at all. I'm not going to rank elements, to suggest the bowling-related antics and what comes from them -- like The Dude's dream sequence or having his, Walter and Donny's tournament rival be flamboyant pederast Jesus Quintana (John Turturro), who seems to treat his ball as an extension of his libido. That said, it is a hoot to see Saddam Hussein responsible for the shoes in The Dude's imaginary alley. Saddam's aggression did not stand, indeed!

Honestly, I wasn't sure what it would be like to revisit Lebowski. I'm glad that I still had a good time. More than that, I'm glad that the movie is more than just a lot of quotable lines and at least two well-remembered performances. There's depth, although silliness is definitely the proverbial rug that ties the room together.

"What makes a man, Mr. Lebowski?"

"Dude."

"Uh?"

"I don't know, sir."

"Is it being prepared to do the right thing, whatever the cost? Isn't that what makes a man?"

"Sure, that and a pair of testicles."

Recommened.

Thoughts:
-- "Life does not stop and start at your convenience, you miserable piece of shit." I actually think that's a better version of the "When you fuck a stranger in the ass" idea. Either way, it's saying it's not about you.

-- Box Office: Grossing nearly $17.5 million on a $15 million budget, this opened at No. 6 and came in at No. 96 for 1998.

-- Critic's Corner: "The funniest running joke ... is that someone is always there to drop the proverbial ferret in the water," Scott Tobias wrote for the A.V. Club in 2009. "It's hard to (completedly dismiss the movie) because the Coens are able to create wickedly funny eccentrics and possess the ability to energize certain actors to inhabit them completely," Kenneth Turan wrote. Roger Ebert, who put Lebowski among his Great Movies, consistently declared the film's approach was in service of a style and that it was "about an attitude, not a story." Gene Siskel, on the other hand, declared the movie "a major disappointment. (Like with The Hudsucker Proxy), the Coens are undone by a film featuring art direction and a story involving the wealthy."

-- Critic's Corner, Jeff: "Slips Zen-like into (The Dude's) skin and doesn't go mugging for effect," Tobias wrote. "... He's a brilliant character actor who just happens to have the features of a marquee superstar (see also: Paul Newman)." Janet Maslin looked at Jeff's past and present: "After having served as Barbra Streisand's male prop in The Mirror Has Two Faces, Mr. Bridges finds a role so right for him that he seems never to have been anywhere else. Watch this performance to see shambling executed with nonchalant grace and a seemingly out-to-lunch character played with fine comic flair." While Desson Howe said Goodman was the movie's breakout star, he nevertheless liked Jeff's "princely dopiness." Gleiberman wasn't a fan, wishing that the "performance were wilder ... The very notion that the Dude takes in the world from a different lattitude never quite comes across."

-- Musical Moments: The score is 8-5, still favoring pieces not written for the films their in. Lebowski gets points for "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" and "Dead Flowers". 

-- The movie's choreography is by Bill & Jacqui Landrum (Moonlighting's "Big Man on Mulberry Street", Barton Fink, Basic Instinct, O Brother, Where Art Thou?). I kinda want to see more of the dance quintet performed by Marty the landlord (Jack Kehler). And how sweet is it that The Dude -- and Walter and Donny -- really did come to see Marty?

-- Fanservice Junction: Asia Carrera as Sherry in Bunny and Karl's porno, Logjammin', plus the topless lady having fun at Jackie's beach party.

-- Not Quite Fanservice Junction: The Dude is a briefs man and Kieffer/Flea's ass starts to hang out during the climactic fight. Also, Phillip Moon and Mark Pellegrino, who played Jackie's thugs, were cute. Is it possible that Jackie just had two guys from the stable of porn performers do some goon work?

-- Hey, It's ...!: David Thewlis, Jon Polito, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Dom Irrera, Aimee Mann and Christian Clemenson.

-- The men who could have played "The Big" Jeffrey Lebowski are a fascinating lot. Several sources say that Robert Duvall disliked the script, Anthony Hopkins wasn't interested in playing an American and Gene Hackman was taking a break from acting. After these men, the likes of Norman Mailer, George C. Scott, Jerry Falwell, Gore Vidal, Andy Griffith, William F. Buckley and Ernest Borgnine were considered. What, no Ned Beatty? No Charlton Heston? John Forsythe? Borgnine will show up this year in BASEketball. The Coens (and my) personal favorite was Marlon Brando, whose health prevented him from taking the role. Lebowski is one of two interesting 1998 roles that were talked about for Brando. The other is Stacy Keach's role in American History X. On a side note, I think someone should have cast Brando as Lyndon Johnson.

-- "Bunny Lebowski, man. Her real name is Fawn Kneutson. Her parents want her back, see?" "Jesus Fucking Christ." "Crazy, huh? Ran away about a year ago. The Kneutsons told me I should show her this when I found her. It's the family farm. It's outside Moorhead, Minnesota. They think it'll make her homesick." "Oh, boy. How you gonna keep them down on the farm once they've seen Karl Hungus?"

-- Next: The Man in the Iron Mask. On deck: Primary Colors.